If you have two synology NASes there are a lot of ways for you to backup your data.
You can backup your data using:
- File station : Drag and drop files between NASes
- Cloud Station ShareSync (this post): One/Two way sync for files and folders that change frequently in real time (hot storage).
- Shared Folder Sync: One way sync for files and folders that do not change that often (cold storage).
- Snapshot Replication: Snapshots of your folders on specific periods of time.
- Hyper Backup: Data backed up are kept in a database which can be browsed, downloaded or restored with tailor-made multi-version explorer on DSM, Windows and Linux platforms.
In this post we will cover the Cloud Station ShareSync replication and in future posts, we will cover the rest of the backup/Replication features.
Replication using Cloud Station ShareSync
What is Cloud Station ShareSync?
It is a one-way/two-way sync with file versioning, It allows shared folders and shared folder privileges to be replicated between a centralized Synology NAS and multiple Synology NAS servers with a simple setup. It is especially suitable for long-term replication of data requiring frequent modifications, since all changes made after the initial sync will be synced in real time.
In plain english: everytime you modify, delete or copy a file in your master NAS it will make a copy LIVE to your slave NAS.
Configure the Master
According to NAS documentation, you need to install in the host server (the server you want to copy the data to others – I will call it the master in this post) the Cloud Station Server package.
I have Drive installed instead and I use the Drive Admin Console instead. Either one works.
To be able to replicate files and folders in another NAS, you need to enable them in either Cloud Station package or Drive Admin console. I am going to show you how to do it with Drive:
- Click on Team Folder
- Click on My Drive
- And then click Enable
Configure the Slave
For the slave, you need to install the Cloud Station ShareSync package:
- Go to Package center
- In the Backup Section
- Select Cloud Station ShareSync.
Once the package has been installed:
- you will see the icon in the top right corner and if you click on it,
- you will be able to configure it: “Launch Cloud Station ShareSync”
I have already installed it, so your dialogs might look a bit different, but the idea is the same.
First things first, connect to your remote NAS or master:
and connect you your NAS:
- Quickconnect or IP
- Username
- Password
And if you dont have the local folders created on your slave, make sure you do that before the next step.
The only thing left to do is to tell your Synology where you want your files copied.To do that:
- you go to Sharing
- Click enable on the folders you want to sync (click on the folder icon to select a folder on the slave)
- Folder on the master
- Folder on the slave
- Sync direction (set up down below)
- Status
- Settings (see below)
So, the settings (the wrench icon) are as follows:
For each sync folder, select the under folders you want to sync (if not all).
Select the file size and file type
And finally select if you want one or two way sync.
And once you have done that, everytime you modify, delete or copy a file in your master NAS it will make a copy LIVE to your slave NAS.
Awesome!!
Synoguide 
Hi Ruth,
Did you work with this solution in production environments?
I’m experiencing problems with high amount of files and inconsistent synchronisations between locations.
We use ShareSync because we have multiple locations and we work with larger files, so sync apps like Syno Drive or DropBox will result in computers with full disks.
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Hi Berry!
I use it all the time, but I don’t sync a lot of files, it is big files instead and that works for me. Contact synology support, they should be able to help you troubleshoot.
/Ruth
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Ruth,
we’re using Cloud station ShareSync in our office to sync machines from one physical office to another, but it is a two way sync.. no master/slave per se.. Yes, one is setup as as the server and the other client, but the synchronization is two way.
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So you are using it to backup each other’s data?
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I have two Synology NAS units. One in USA as the “master” and the other overseas as the slave. Actually setup for bidirectional sync. I frequently get synchronization errors in which the remote “slave loses synch. Synology suppler has not been able to help me and seem like they just do t care. To resync I need to manually go into DSM and uncheck the mapping for each folder pair, apply, recheck the mapping and reapply. It then synced and works for manybe a week or so.
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I had Bidirectional sync before, but I managed to delete an entire share folder on my master and it got deleted on my slave too!!
Thankfully I had replication snapshots on so I only lost one day of data, but after that I only have one-direction as my slave is my backup.
Take that into account!!
/Ruth
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Hi Ruth,
Do you have Synology’s own recycle bin set up ?
we also back up our NAS to Amazon’s Glacier.. it’s cheap insurance if you ever need something..
Thanks for this post and site !!
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Yes, I do 🙂
Anything you wonder about that set up?
/Ruth
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No wondering. Coming from a iseries and enterprise linux, Diskstations are certainly a great bang for the buck – we had had a myriad of unexplainable issues, the Cloudstation would just stop, doesn’t accurately track files after 10K, would not restart. Support staff really don’t care and don’t follow through at all. Ultimately after about 12 weeks, they changed something (we had granted access to them). It just was working one day, long after we had given up hope. I had to contact them to close the case. I would venture most folks don’t have the time or the ability to do so. they want something that works out of the box.
Your site was a great jumping off point rather than reinvent the wheel.
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Hi, Great write up. I was starting to get frustrated with Drive when I couldn’t figure out how to use cloudsync to sync my files to a remote NAS which was a temporary state of happiness when I found out I couldn’t sync my ‘Drive’ (and therefore, ‘Moments’) content to my remote NAS. Any advice?
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Hi,
I don’t use moments, so I didnt know it wasn’t possible.
Try hyper backup or maybe with snapshot replication?
/Ruth
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Hi, I’m setting upp both my servers as masters (if i understand correct). I want to change files on my server locally in Sweden when im there and then work locally on my server in France when i’m there. With the bandwith I have in france its no fun having the french as a master and the same with Sweden. Is bad to do/think like that? I’ve done som tests and it seems to be working…… I change in Sweden and the shared folder updates. I change in France and the shared folder seems to update. Do I risk anything……?
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Actually on my Slave NAS, CLoud Station SHare Sync is upto date, But watever folders i create on master is not been replicated on Slave.
COuld you Please let me know what could be wrong.
there is a time diff of 3 mins between NAS? IS that a problem?
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